Locals, activists cry foul as more trees are cut for Aurobindo Road widening
NEW DELHI: Residents ofSarvoda ya Enclave and neighbouring localities in south Delhi were in for a shock on Saturday night when the Public Works Department cut down the last surviving trees on the busy Aurobindo Marg.
The action by the department was part of the Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal and Delhi government’s plan to de-congest the 8km stretch from Aurobindo Marg to Andheria Mod. “The only four remaining trees on the stretch from Essex Farms to the Saket turn point were cut on Saturday night. Five had been fell in the previous months for supposedly reducing traffic,” said Padmavati Dwivedi, an environmental activist and resident of Sarvodaya Enclave.
It was in July when residents of Sarvodya Enclave in South Delhi tied rakhis to those trees to prevent them from being felled by the administration.
The stretch at Aurobindo Marg is part of the five major corridors that the Delhi government is working on to clear traffic bottlenecks. According to the plan, PWD will build a foot overbridge at AIIMS Gate and a subway at Yusuf Sarai market.
Footpaths will be reconstructed at Yusuf Sarai Market, road near CNG station opposite TB hospital and opposite Solitaire Garden will be widened, slip roads on both side of Press Enclave road leading to the PTS T-point will be built, and width of the central verge of INA market for widening service road will be reduced.
However, environmentalists are far from happy at the way the project is being implemented. Citing a letter, Dwivedi said that she along with other residents and activists had received assurances from the environment minister and the L-G that an alternative to tree felling would be discussed.
“You are requested to kindly consider the matter of decongestion of Aurobindo Marg without felling of trees to find an amicable solution as requested by the applicant and submit a suitable reply to her with copy to all concerned,” read the letter written by the conservator of forests to PWD’s engineer-in-chief on August 16.
When Hindustan Times asked the PWD about the issue, its engineer-in-chief Sarvagya Shrivastava said, “We have got all the necessary approvals f and there is no reason why work to improve traffic situation of the busy road should be stopped.”
Dwivedi rued that the residents and activists protesting felling of trees were never brought on board to discuss the plan. “It is not about the number of trees that were cut, it is about their age. These were heritage trees that were over 16 years old. It is shocking that despite assurances; they brought in police and began chopping the trees at one go with electric saws,” she said.
Responding to HT’s queries, special secretary of environment department SM Ali said, “I am not aware about what the forest department had assured, but the environment department did not give any such assurances.”
The other four stretches to be decongested include Neela Gumbad to Badarpur Flyover, 11 Murti to Dhaula Kuan, Chirag Delhi crossing to Savitri Flyover, Dhaula Kuan flyover to Gurgaon flyover Sanjay T-Point.